A moment of truth
by SnapeSeraphin
Summary: A spinoff from a Utopia story. Lucius Malfoy is deeply unhappy after his divorce and has never known love. Hermione Granger is scarred from previous experiences, but hanging on. Unbeknownst to each other, they have been working together for the last few weeks. Hermione tries to console him and they share an unexpected moment of truth. HGLM. Original story premise by Utopia


**AN:** I read Utopia's "Wizard's Porn" years ago and I really liked the premise of her story. While reading the story, I developed an idea in my own mind about how the story would unfold. Seeing that the real author took it off in a wildly different direction to what I was expecting, the plotbunnies in my head were unsatisfied and it lead to me writing down this little scene between the two main characters.

For those of you who haven't read the story: please go and do so now, it is an enjoyable read and a very original premise. For those of you who have, I hope you will take enjoyment from this little blurb that I couldn't keep myself from writing all those years ago and which, after a long absence from fanfiction, I've decided to share with you today.

My little spin-off takes place after chapter five. As a quick recap: the story is post-war; both Hermione and Lucius are working as performers in a theatre where people pay to view live erotic acts. They go by their stage names 'Juliet' and 'Max' respectively and wear glamours to conceal their identity. Neither knows the other's true identity at the beginning of the story. Lucius has been deeply unhappy recently because he has never found true love and Narcissa, who was as close as he ever got to loving someone, has just left him because she has fallen in love with someone else. He doesn't realise it yet, but he is falling in love with his partner, Juliet/Hermione.

**Disclaimer**: All credit for the original story goes to Utopia and the characters, of course, belong to JK Rowling.

Juliet didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was worried. The last couple of performances she had had with Max, he had been intense during their show and quiet and withdrawn afterwards. She couldn't help the feeling that he was going through a rough patch.

Once or twice she tried to get him to open up to her after the performance, but she was mostly rebuffed. The one time she thought he might take her up on her offer, the manager had burst in with the money, upsetting the atmosphere she'd managed to create. After the manager was gone, Max was once again as aloof as he ever was and had left shortly after.

Today, for the first time in all the performances they had together, he was running late. The manager entered the stage where she was patiently waiting.

"Right, he's applying his glamours now, he should be here within five minutes," he announced. "I'll have his hide after the show. Now, we need to think of our audience first. Stacy asked us to show the healing power of sex. Do you understand what the hell that means?"

A smile slowly formed on Juliet's face; this was a gift! If Max wouldn't or couldn't talk to her after the performance, then maybe she could show him she wanted to be there for him _during_. She didn't know why she felt so strongly about her partner of the last couple of weeks and for now she was happy not knowing. She just went with her instincts.

At that moment, the object of her thoughts entered.

"Please excuse me for the delay," he said, his voice icily polite. It made Juliet feel strange, to hear him talk like that.

"We're doing a show for the therapy group again," she explained quickly, ignoring his mood for the moment. "I was thinking of the following scene: you come home in a bad mood, maybe something bad happened at work, I don't know. Anyway, you're upset or angry or something of the sort and it is up to me to fix it."

Max narrowed his eyes at her. He was no idiot. He knew what she had been trying to do for a couple of weeks now. She had, to his amazement, picked up on his unhappiness, now that his wife had found her true love and left him even more alone than he had been before. It made him feel uncomfortable, that somebody that knew him so little, could read him so well. He hadn't enough experience with love to realize that this is often the way an attraction works. What he also didn't realise, is that he showed much more to Juliet than was his intent; despite his best efforts, he was growing ever more fond of her. It made him uncomfortable.

"How convenient," he all but sneered. Juliet seemed completely unaware of his sarcasm.

"Yes, it is, isn't it? I've been wanting to address this topic for some time. It's going to be a great performance, I just feel it!" she enthused.

Max was still eyeing her with suspicion.

With a tap of her wand, she transfigured the robe she was wearing into a sharp charcoal pencil skirt and a silk blouse of the palest peach. A tap to her head had her wild curls realigning themselves into a loose knot at the back of her head, a couple of tendrils escaping to an overall endearing effect. She could work at any of the Malfoy companies like this, Max thought, no questions asked.

He transfigured his own robe into a set of business robes, complete with a heavy cloak lined with green satin. He felt entirely too much like Lucius and too little like Max for his own comfort. Even his – short – dalliances as a sub had never made him feel this naked or vulnerable. Before he could do anything about it thought, the manager was already wishing them luck, pinning Max with a steely look before leaving. Juliet was rummaging around with the props for a minute, then walked onto the opposite side of the stage.

"I'll wait here for you to come home, husband dearest," she said gaily, unwittingly twisting the knife with her choice of address; he was nobody's husband anymore. Before Max had the chance to regain his composure, the curtain was rising; it was too late to leave.

He watched for a couple of moments as Juliet moved around the stage: an ordinary looking bedroom with a closet and a dresser. The only extraordinary item, was the large bed with satin bedding and pillows in rich jewel tones. It was definitely more lavish than the average bedroom, but not so outrageous that it looked too much like a set.

Juliet busied herself at the dresser, humming softly under her breath. Well, at least he was in the right mood for the beginning of the scene, he thought grimly, as he moved onto the stage, making sure that the door banged against the wall as he entered. 'Let her try and make me feel better!' he thought grimly. Fortunately the public couldn't see his face up close.

Juliet visibly started at the sound of the door hitting the wall. Okay, no holds barred, she got the picture.

"Max!" she exclaimed, turning towards him, hand pressed against her heart. "You scared the life..." she trailed off at the sight of his dark countenance. Getting up quickly, she made her way over to where Max stood, unmoving, uncharacteristically indecisive.

"Bad day at work, honey?" she queried sympathetically. Her only response was a growl. Being up close to him, she could see in the tension around his eyes, that not all of it was acting. Letting out a small laugh for the benefit of the audience, she raised her hands to rest on his shoulders, using the leverage to pull herself onto her toes and press a short, sweet kiss to his lips.

"I see," she said. "Well, "let me take care of you." She threw him a saucy wink. To her surprise he didn't respond at all, not even acting a response.

Losing some of her own acted character, she said: "It must have been something big, for you to be this upset about it." There was genuine concern in her eyes as she looked at her tall dark and handsome partner.

She let her hands slide from his shoulders to the clasp of his cloak and with a few swift movements, she had it undone and flung haphazardly into the corner. His robes were next, then his shoes and socks; she just kept going until he was standing before her barefoot, his white shirt completely unbuttoned, showing off his muscular chest and flat abdomen. All the while, Max just stood there and let her do what she would.

"Come, dearest," she whispered, as she took his hand and pulled him with her to the bed. She positioned him on the corner of the bed, in such a way that the audience had a good view of his delicious body. She then darted over to the dresser, where she picked up the large cup of tea she had prepared on a whim just before the curtain went up.

"Have some tea," she urged Max, who gave her a dark look when she held the cup out to him. Her mouth twitched as she saw his eyes widen in surprise at the fact that there was a good quality, honest to god, earl grey in the cup and not the theatre's usual substandard black tea.

"Thank you." They were the first words he had spoken since entering the stage and he sounded a bit hoarse.

"I know you," Juliet said simply, her gaze a little more penetrating than he felt comfortable with as she kicked off her own sensible pumps and grabbed the brush from the dresser. Positioning herself on her knees behind him on the bed, she undid the tie holding his luxurious long hair together and watched it fan out over his broad shoulders.

"I love your hair," she murmured as she started to brush it from the bottom up.

Meanwhile Max had problems keeping his hands steady. He knew she knew he was genuinely upset. He also knew that the tea and the hair-brushing was just acting, but dear Merlin it felt so good. It was as if he was somehow being wrapped in warmth, as he drank the tea she had prepared for him especially – quality tea! She must have taken it from home – and allowed the sensations of the brush moving through his hair to calm him.

By the time the cup was empty, Juliet had completely untangled his hair, the strands glossy and dark on his back. She was still brushing it though, her hand carding through right after the brush. In the end, she forewent the brush altogether and just carded her fingers through his hair, over and over.

Max couldn't help but let out a small moan at the lovely sensation it created on his scalp. As if it was some kind of signal she'd been waiting for, she moved his hair to the side and started kissing his neck, while her hands slid around his waist from behind.

Her mouth started moving a trail down his trapezius muscle in the direction of his arm, pushing the pristine white shirt off of his shoulder as she went, not bothering to take it off. Simultaneously, her small hands splayed themselves against his abdomen, before slowly moving upwards. Max revelled in her caresses, letting his head fall back against her chest behind him and his eyes fluttered closed helplessly.

There was a hissing intake of breath as her nail flicked sharply against his already taut nipple, desire shooting straight to his groin.

"Please," he begged, mouth hanging slightly open, as he allowed himself to enjoy whatever she was offering.

Juliet's hand slid downward, caressing his flat, hard abdomen; Max started to breathe more rapidly.

Without pausing to tease him, as if she knew he was truly desperate for her touch, she moved her hand to the front of his trousers, covering as much of him as she could beneath her warm palm and fingers.

Simultaneously, they realised something. Max' eyes snapped open and Juliet turned to meet his gaze: he'd forgotten to drink the stamina potion.

She saw the rising panic in his eyes, even as beneath her hand she could feel his, more than adequate, erection wilting slightly.

Under the guise of kissing his jaw she moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered. "Don't worry, we'll make it work. I certainly have more than enough to work with," and she squeezed his package meaningfully.

Max couldn't help but let out a groan at that. Juliet felt him firming up, twitching impatiently.

"That's right," she encouraged, swiping her tongue along the shell of his ear, making him moan out loud. "It's just us. Forget the audience." Her voice was almost hypnotic as she rubbed her hand up and down his swollen member. She took his earlobe into her mouth and suckled it, her tongue caressing the back of it before letting it slip from between her plump lips with a wet sound. She went in for the kill.

"I certainly have."

And with that, she kissed him on the mouth.

As before, he was clumsy when it came to kissing. Their teeth clashed together a couple of times and with his lack of prowess she didn't dare add her tongue to the mix. Kissing obviously wasn't a skill that was in high demand on the BDSM stage, she thought wryly.

When her lip actually got caught between their teeth, she had had enough. She was going to teach this man how to kiss properly, if it was the last thing she did.

"Stop it," she commanded, simultaneously exerting pressure on his penis, his resulting moan covering the fact that she had been talking.

"Let me show you how it's done," she admonished, reinforcing her grip on his dangly bits to drive home what the punishment for disobedience was. Without giving him the time to gather his wits about him or be insulted, she moved forward and softly placed her lips against his. At the first sign of him trying to reciprocate, though flattering in itself, she increased the pressure on his cock. He got the message.

Juliet enjoyed herself immensely, as she moved her lips over his from left to right, teasing him by keeping the pressure light. Then, she moved in closer, slanting her mouth over his, letting her tongue play against the seam of his lips.

A little pressure on his groin had him opening his mouth in a sigh and she took the opportunity to let her tongue dip inside his mouth. She moved along his teeth and the inside of his upper lip, feeling beneath her hand that he quite liked the sensation. Then, she allowed her tongue to move deeper inside his mouth, caressing his as it tentatively moved against hers.

While she rubbed his groin in silent encouragement he started participating more fully and the sensation of his tongue sliding against hers – finally! – had her moaning in turn. His cock twitched at the response.

Smiling, Juliet disentangled herself from him, gratified with how kiss-swollen his mouth looked and slid off the bed. His uncomprehending expression soon vanished as she fell to her knees in front of him and unfastened his trousers. Urging him to lift his bum, which he did, she pulled them down together with his briefs until they were around his ankles.

His cock was as engorged as it had ever been with the stamina potion, the head shining with precum.

Juliet spread his thighs as wide as they would go and moved in between his legs. She grabbed a hold of his cock at the base and looked up at him mischievously.

"Have I told you lately," she asked huskily, "that I think you have the most beautiful cock I've ever seen?"

Her words rang with sincerity and Max stared at her incredulously, finding no sign of acting whatsoever.

"What..?" he started to say, but lost the power of speech momentarily because Juliet had engulfed the head of his cock with her mouth without further ado. His arms, placed behind him for balance, gave out and he fell back onto the luxurious bed.

"Merlin, witch!" he groaned helplessly. Juliet let his cock slide from her mouth for a moment and chuckled at the sight of the normally imposing wizard, utterly at her mercy.

Rubbing her tongue against her palate to stimulate the production of saliva, she shot him a sultry gaze before once again engulfing his penis in her mouth. Her nimble little fingers wrapped around his shaft and pulled back his foreskin, giving her free reign over the sensitive head.

As she swiped her tongue teasingly all around the smooth, plump tip, Max' hands scrambled for purchase on the satin bedding, clenching uncontrollably.

"Oh that feels so good, my love," he groaned, his hips jerking upwards reflexively. Her mouth was so warm, so smooth, so incredibly wet, that there was nothing to jar the almost feathery attentions of her tongue, as she softly caressed him with it. It was so sweet and gentle and simultaneously so incredibly arousing; he'd never felt anything like it.

Juliet, for her part, was entirely focused on his pleasure. Normally they were equals giving each other pleasure, as she had explained to him before their first performance, but today was all about showing Max that she had come to care about him and wished to alleviate the burden of whatever it was that was troubling him. That the audience had requested an example of how to express feelings of love through sex, was merely a convenient coincidence.

As she tongued his slit, he actually made a sort of mewling noise and she heard the faint scratching of his nails against the bedding. Without conscious thought, she moved her arm over his leg, and reached for his hand. Simultaneously, she halted her sweet torment of him in order to start a more serious assault.

Grasping his shaft firmly with her free hand, she sucked his cock into her mouth more deeply, sucking voraciously. His laboured breathing increased in speed, while his hand desperately held onto hers, his grip crushing.

Juliet slid down on his member, then back off again, sucking as she went. "So good," whispered Max hoarsely, sweat beading on his forehead, chest heaving with the force of his breathing.

Her tongue circled around his cock, playing along the crown just underneath its head. Max actually shuddered. She redoubled her efforts, moving him in and out of her mouth, every once in a while gently scraping his shaft with her teeth. On either side of her she could feel a faint tremor in his legs.

Letting go of his shaft, she moved her hand underneath, cupping his heavy testicles, rolling them gently, while still sucking him off. The effect was immediate and dramatic.

Max sat up just far enough so that he could grab a hold of her shoulders and yanked her up.

"If you keep that up, my dear, you are going to make me come so hard..." he growled, his eyes dark with fire. He took in her lips, which were shiny with her own saliva and red from her exertions so far.

Unable and unwilling to check the impulse, he dove onto her mouth, kissing, nibbling and suckling her lips in a frenzy.

"You drive me mad," he whispered and Juliet felt a shiver go down her spine at the sheer intensity in his voice.

His lips devoured hers again, his tongue seeking entrance and battling with hers. There were some minor teeth clashes still, but it felt as if he meant to consume her whole: she had never felt more wanted in her life.

As their kissing continued unabated, she felt hands impatiently pulling on the fastenings of her blouse and unzipping her skirt.

Taking a second away from her mouth he commanded: "Off! I want it off, now!"

Juliet gave his stones – which were still in her hand - a squeeze, before sliding backwards off the bed and undressing herself quickly. Max' eyes never left her, even as he impatiently kicked his trousers and briefs from around his ankles, while she went as fast as she could, dropping her clothes uncaringly.

The enticing tan and black lace bra and knickers she wore were discarded without a second thought at his impatient hand gesture. As she dropped her knickers – god she was wet! – he growled impatiently.

"Come over here. I need you _now_."

She flew back onto the bed with him, her hands burying themselves into his long, luxurious hair, even as their mouths resumed their frantic kissing.

"I need to be inside you," he implored hoarsely in between kisses, his gaze hot and demanding.

Juliet urged him to move to the middle of the bed. "Indian style," she whispered as she tugged on his legs impatiently. Bemused, he followed her directions.

As soon as he had settled himself, she crawled into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist; she landed close - but not quite – on target. He groaned in frustration.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

"Help me."

His hands grabbed hold of her buttocks and with a little lifting and shifting she soon felt the tip of his cock at her entrance.

"Merlin, you're wet," he groaned.

She tightened her grip on his shoulders as she pressed down on him and felt his entire length sinking into her. "I want you," she whispered back.

Max tried to pull back so he could thrust up into her wet heat, but found that their position made it all but impossible.

At that, Juliet let go of his shoulders and smiled deviously down at him, his head being at the same height as her breasts.

"Ah ah ah, you're not the one in charge Max dear," she admonished, devilish lights warring with the fire in her eyes.

He growled in frustration and before she could do or say anything else, he had captured her nipple and a good part of her breast in his mouth. Giving her a dark look from underneath his lashes and baring his teeth at her, he growled again.

Juliet couldn't help but laugh at his threat, enjoying how his eyes slid closed and he released her at the added pressure on his cock. She stroked his hair away from his face.

"Let me take care of you," she said huskily, even as she purposefully clenched around him, loving the feel of his girth inside of her.

As she rhythmically flexed her muscles, she felt the faint tremor returning to his legs.

"I'm...so close..." he murmured, his hand trying to make its way in between them to make sure she went over the edge with him.

Juliet caught it in hers before it got very far and entwined the fingers of his hand with hers.

"Just let go," she encouraged, lifting herself up a little bit, before plunging down.

"Can't stand this..."

She wrapped her free arm once again around his shoulders; his skin was clammy beneath the plain white shirt both of them hadn't bothered divesting him of.

As she increased her speed and the power of her clenches, his breathing grew increasingly fast and increasingly ragged.

"Juliet..." he groaned, his hand clenching hers almost painfully.

"Come for me, love," she coaxed breathlessly, slowing down a tiny bit and bearing down on him so hard that she could feel every delicious inch of him.

"Merlin, yes!" he groaned, his buttocks flexing in spite of his limited range of movement. Her silken heat slid over him one last time and then he was coming, helplessly jerking his hips in age-old reflexes as his seed spurted out, his balls drawn tight and hard against his body.

He was unaware that he was clenching her hand so hard he almost broke her fingers, he was unaware that there were tears sliding down his cheeks, he was unaware that, at a small signal from Juliet the stage-hands let the curtain fall.

The only thing he felt was her warm heat, enveloping him in more ways than one as she wrapped her legs around him more firmly and freed her hand from his so she could wrap the attached arm around him too. His head was gently coaxed to burrow into the hollow between her shoulder and her neck and even though it was hot and uncomfortable and sticky, it was heaven to him.

He had never felt more wanted in his life.

It was a full ten minutes later that the manager made his entrance with the money, his face jubilant. Max might have been gratified to know that they had made their highest profit yet tonight, but he was still ensconced safely in his partner's warmth, determined to savour her embrace as long as he possibly could.

A quick, barely noticeable shake of the head from Juliet had the manager moving off again without uttering a word.

She gave Max another five minutes, unconsciously carding her fingers through his silky hair again, manfully ignoring the feeling of drying semen on her privates, as his soft cock had slid from her entrance quite some time ago.

"Max, dear, allow me to clean up this mess," she said softly as she wiggled her legs in order to return some life to them.

Reluctantly, he released his hold on her and helped her to remove herself from his lap. His eyes only met hers for the briefest of instants, before he scooted off the bed and started looking around for his clothing, not speaking.

She dispatched the wet spot on the bedding with a quick spell, before muttering a cleaning charm on her knickers. She couldn't explain to herself why, but she didn't clean his essence off of her before she quickly pulled on her underwear hoping he hadn't noticed.

Next she picked up the discarded hairbrush, more out of a habit of cleanliness than that it was actually necessary for her to clean up the stage and the props she'd used. She was already in front of the dresser and was in the act of laying the brush down on it, when she saw that there were still hairs caught in it. Very pale hairs...

She froze as she stared at the brush, her mind fluttering with thoughts. Superficial glamours, like the ones used by the theatre's personnel, had a propensity to wear off of discarded hairs, but this normally wasn't a problem, because nobody would know which hair belonged to whom originally anyway.

Not now. She knew exactly whose hair she brushed with this brush and as she gazed at the image of Max in the mirror, seated on a corner of the bed as he pulled on his socks, she couldn't help but replace his long black hair by hair of the same length that was...white? Gray?

She gasped as the realisation hit; her suspicions confirmed by another close look at the hairs in the brush.

Silvery-blond.

In a moment, she suddenly understood why he had been so sad lately. She could conjecture as to where his lack of kissing skills came from. She understood so much in the span of one moment.

Question was, could she let go of her past image of him and see Max – whom she had grown more than fond of these past week – in Lucius?

She turned around.

"Max, can I have a word?"

He looked up at her hesitantly. After a moment's consideration, he slowly nodded. The fact that he wasn't speaking bothered her. She moved to the bed and held her hand out to him. Frowning, he nonetheless took it. He held it as she turned down the satin comforter, something they hadn't bothered to do for the show. She pulled him over to the side of the bed and pushed him down until he took a seat. From his position he stared at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Just humour me, OK?" she said, as she moved to the other side of the bed and crawled into a spot behind his back. With gentle pressure on his shoulder, she coaxed him into laying down, his head on the comfortable pillow, his back turned to her.

"What are we doing, Juliet?" he asked bemusedly.

"Don't turn around," she admonished as he moved his head to regard her over his shoulder. Obligingly he turned back.

"Is this going to take long?" he queried, some amusement audible in his voice.

Juliet took a deep, calming breath, then tapped herself on the head twice with her wand.

Laying herself down behind him, she let one arm slide underneath his neck, then cross his chest to the opposite shoulder. Her other arm slung itself around his waist after she pulled the comforter up and over the two of them.

"Juliet..." Max started, a hint of annoyance beginning to creep into his voice.

"My real name..." she took another deep breath as she felt him stiffen in her embrace, "...is Hermione."

His body didn't relax, but he didn't recoil or try to get away from her either. So far so good then, she thought as she held still, afraid to break whatever tenuous understanding there was between them at the moment.

When he didn't respond to her statement other than not fleeing, she realised that he needed a little more coaxing to let himself be vulnerable around her in turn. She closed her eyes and gathered her courage once more, even as she pulled him closer against her own body.

"Do you want to talk about your divorce?"

_Finite _


End file.
